Storage systems capable of being mounted to walls, such as the walls in a kitchen, garage, or office, are well known in the art. However, the wall-mounted storage systems described in the prior art are cumbersome and difficult to install, especially when said storage systems are being installed by an individual. The challenge in solo-installing wall-mounted storage systems is particularly present when various tools and fasteners are required because at least one person is needed to hold the storage system level and at the desired height while at least one additional person is needed to fasten and secure the cabinet to the wall.
Additionally, once the storage system is mounted to the wall, it is often equally as cumbersome to uninstall and reinstall the cabinets. For example, changes to a person's walls or personal preferences may leave said person inclined to change which direction the doors on the cabinets open. In order to facilitate this change, the doors would have to be removed from their hinges or other fasteners, flipped, and reattached to said hinges or fasteners. As is all too common, getting the doors to perfectly realign is no easy feat. Also, removing and reattaching the doors may require the efforts of multiple people because one person may need to hold the door steady while another person detaches and reattaches the door.
There have been attempts to solve this and other related wall-mounted storage system problems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 9,526,336 to Wells (the “'336 Patent”) describes a storage system wherein the cabinets have notches on the upper back portion of the cabinet which are used to slide the cabinet over the alignment rail. However, the storage members of the '336 Patent are attached to the wall via at least one fastener that extends through a first rail and a second rail. The use of fasteners to attach the cabinets to the wall is not only less cost effective but also decreases the ease with which a solo installer may install the storage system because more tools and people are required to complete installation. Furthermore, the '336 Patent only has notches on the upper back portion of the cabinets, and thus the cabinets are only capable of being installed in a single orientation; such a design limits how doors on the cabinet may open
The prior art illuminates a clear deficiency in existing wall-mounted storage systems. Therefore, there exists a previously unappreciated need for a new and improved wall-mounted storage system that can easily be installed by an individual without needing to use fasteners to attach the cabinets to a wall cleat hanger. The present invention overcomes the above-described disadvantages of presently existing wall-mounted storage systems. It is to these ends that the present invention has been developed.